Multilead mechanical pencil



J'un'e HY. M.- LARTER MLTILEAD MECHANICAL PENCIL ilied Nov. v, "1929 ATTRN EY `Patented June 2, 1931 UNITED STATES PA'Isaliry GFFICQE HALSEY MONROE LARTER, OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY, ASSIG-NORTO LARTEVRGc SONS, y j

OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY I MULTILEAD MECHANICALPENCIL Application filed November 7, 1929. Serial No. 4115,318.

This invention ielates to multi-lead inechanical pencils and moreparticularly to a mechanical or propelling pencil having a plurality of different colored leads which can be brought separately and selectively into writing position.

One objectof the invention is to provide a pencil of this character embodying novel and improved features. of construction for 1@ ,mounting the leads in a casingand selec- .tively presenting the leads into writing position at one end of the casing. v

Another object is to provide such a pen- ,cil having novel and improvedmeans for selecting the leads and projecting them into writing position by respective rotative vand longitudinal movements in succession, whereby the operation ofthe pencil jis simple and certain.

Other objects are to provide a pencil .of the character described including acasing or holder having fa. singleopening in one end, and a plurality of separate and independent means for mounting the respective leads within the casing,V and means Vfor se- `lectively projecting said mounting means Vthrough said opening into: writing position; to provide such a pencil having the casing formed of two relatively rotatable and re ciprocable sections in one of .which said mounting ineansis arranged, and selecting and projecting mechanism common to all Vof said mounting means secured in the other section for .actuating them one at a 4time .p through said opening in the casing, y said f` mechanism being broughtV into actuating relation to said .mounting'means by relative rotation of said lcasingfsections,.and actuating the mounting meansxby relative recip- 40 rocation of said casing sections; to provide means lcooperating with said selectingand projecting mechanism for locking alleX- cept the projected onefof said mounting vmeans against movement in the casing;- to

gli provide means for llocking the projected mounting .means in writing position bysimple rotation of the casing sections; to provide such a mechanical pencil which shall be simple, inexpensive vand reliable in construction; and to Vobtain other advantages `on thelinev ll+11 of Figure 10.

and results as `will be brought out by `the I Yfollowing description.

Referring to the accompanying drawings in'which corresponding and likeparts are designated,throughout the lseveral views by the same reference characters,

. VFigure 1 s a side elevation of a mechanical pencil embodying my invention, =por tions being broken .away and vshown insec` tion. y y l Figure 2 1s a similar view showing 'a lead ycarrier retracted into the casing preparatory to projecting another'lead carrier.

l FigureB is an enlarged longitudinal vertical sectional view through the pencil with `the parts shown as in Figure l.

rFigure elis a similar view with the parts as shown in Figure .2; portions being. broken away.` Y Y Figure 5 is a fragmentary longitudinal Y.sectional view talren on. the` line.n 5.-5 of Figure 4. y v

Figures 6 and 7` are transverse sectional views taken on the respective lines 6-'6 and 77Vof Figuree.

Figure 8 is a rtransversev sectional view taken on the line 8 8V of Figure 3.

`Figure9 is a detached perspective kvie-iv lof the locking rod for holding the leadcarriers against projection'out of the casing.

Figure l() is an enlargedlongitudinal sectional view through the lead advancing means of one of thelead-carriers, land Figure 11 is a transverse sectional Specilically describing the illustrated emviewV bodiment of therinvention the pencil comprises aA casing A which includes two'tubular `sections l and 2 which have a sliding ztelescoping and a relative rotative relation. At .f one Aend'of one of the sections, in the present instancethe section l is provided an opening 3 vinwardly from which the `walls of the section diverge or are as at 4:. In

the otherfend` of said .section 1 is secured' mounting means Bl j for the leads. This vancing means (i.y The other end of each mounting means is shown as comprising a pluralityQOf lead-carriers 5 at oneend of Veach of which is alead holding andadturned flanges 10 at its mouth. The channel guides 9 are mounted upon a bar 11 substantially square in cross section, and the guides are secured together lat their ends by rings 12 and 13, the latter of which is slotted at 4let in alinement with themouths of the respective guides 9 while the ring 12 is soldered or otherwise xedly secured in the end of the section 1 of the casingopposite the opening 3.

In the other section 20f the' casing `is mounted selecting and projecting means C for the lead-carriers 5. j This means is shown as comprising a sleeve 15soldered`or otherwise ixedlysecured fat 16I in the casing section. and having a telescoping movement over theV guides 9. rl`he sleeve 15 hasa pin 17 projectingv inwardly therefrom to enter a transverse groove 18 in each of the i blocks 8V of the lead-carriers, said pin being slidable through the mouths of each of the guides 9 so as to project. one of the lead-carriers 5 through the opening 3 upon relative sliding movement of the casing sections 1 and 2, as shown in Figure 3 of the drawings. Vhen the lead-carriers 5 are retracted into the casing, the grooves 18 of the blocks 8 yare in the same transverse Vplaneof the casing sections at right angles to the aXis of the sections, as clearly shown in Figures and 6 of the'drawings. It 'will therefore be obvious that by simple rotation of the Casing section 2 relative to the `casing section 1, the pin 17 can be located in any of the grooves 18 so as to connect with the corresponding'leadlcarrier for actuation of the latter through the opening 3.

` It is desirable to have means for holding all except the projected one of the leadcarriers inretracted position during the actuation of one of the lead-carriers into projected position through the opening 3. For this purpose I may utilize a split locking ring 19 which is rotatable in the Vgrooves n 18 and the split 20 which is of sufficient width to receive the Vpin 17. On the side of the locking ring 19 facing the lead-carriers are a plurality of depressions or recesses 21, one foreach lead-carrier, with which cooperate a locking rod 22 slidably mounted in the rings 12 and 13 and normally influenced against the locking ring 19 by a compression-spring 23 interposed between a shoulder 24 on the rod 'and a crosspin 25 secured in the ring 12.v VThe recesses 21 are so arranged that when the split of the lockingring is arranged in alinement with any ofthe guides`9,one,of'the recesses 21 y Aa lead-advanclngfmeans for compensating is in alinement with the locking rod 22. LThe locking ring obviously will,` hold all but: one 'of' the blocks 8 `against longitudinal movement, and the locking rod `22vvill hold'the klead-carrier mounted in said guide.

locking ring with its split in alinement with one of the guides 9 during actuation of the lVhen the lead-carriers are in retracted position the pin 17 is located in the split of the locking ring as shown in Figures 4 and 6, V 'so that rotation of the casing section 2 also rotates the locking ring. The locking ring is held lin position between theV end of the ring 13 and a cap plate`26 secured tothe end of the rod 11.` l The cap plate 26 has the side thereof adjacent the vlocking ring recessed at 27 to provide a vclearance for the ends of the blocks8, as shown Vin Figure 5; and the cap plate serves as a stop to limit relative longitudinal movement of the casing sections during retraction of the lead-carriers.

lVith this construction it will be understood that, assuming all of the lead-carriers 5 to be retracted into vthe Vcasing as shown in Figure Il, to projcctone of the lead-carriers through the opening 3, the sections 1 and 2 are relatively rotated until the pin 17 enters the groove 18 in one of the blocks 8. To indicate Vwhen the pin is so located, one casing section may be provided on its 'outer surface with indicators 28 each ofwhieh corresponds in location to one of the lead-carrying members 5. The other section-has an indicator 29 corresponding in position to the Vpin 17, or in other words in thev same axial plan-e of the casing as said pin. `Obviously when these two in- ,dicators are inalinenient, the pin' 17 must belocated inthe groove of one ofthe blocks 8. Where the leadsare of different colors, the indicators 2 8 maybe correspondingly colored. Y v Y Upon sliding 4the two sections 1 and 2 suici'ently resilient to Hex so as'to permit the lead-carrier to beso projected.'H

' f Forlocking each Ilead-carrier in it-s lprojected 'writing' position, the flangeA of each channel guide9 may be notched as at'30 to receive the pinV4 17 uponslight relative rota'- tion of the twocasing sections,n as shown in Figure 8 of the drawing. rlhe ypin 17 n' thus overlies both the block 8 and the guide {ia-nge soy as to lock the block against movement longitudinally of the guide.

To retract the lead-carrier, obviously it isrnerelv necessary'to slightly Vrelatively rotate the-sections land 2 in the opposite direction and then `relatively slide them in iso the direction opposite to that incident to projecting the lead-carrier.

Preferably each ofthe lead-carriers has for wear ofthe lead. This advance means consists of an. interiorly threaded tube 31 lixedly secured to the lead-'carrier and havtionally held.

iig vmounted therein a :rotatable tube 82 which is longitudinally slotted and :in `which .is-longitudinally movable an vadvancing rod 33 having one end in the form ofa fin 84.

-lead-carrier projecting mechanism C may be formedinto a chamber 37 closed by a plug 38 in which may be mounted aneraser 39. The eraser 39 may be protected from soil by va cap 40 .frictionally fitted over the'outer end of the plug 38. This cap also lends .a iinish to the casing'.

While I have` shown and described'the now preferred'embodiment of my invention it should be understood that this is'primarily for the purpose of illustrating the principles ofthe invention and thatfmany modifications and changes may beniade in the details of construction -Withoutfdeparting from the spirit or scope ofthe invention.

Having thus described :my invention, what I claimI is: 1

l. A multi-lead mechanical pencil comprising a casing including ytwo relatively slidable and rotatable sections one having van opening at one end, aiplurality of leadcarriers mounted in saidsection of ythe casing to move oneat `a time throughf'said opening, and means inthe other casing section to selectively 'engage said lead-carriers upon relative rotation ofsaid casing sections and to project them4 outwardly throughsaid opening andretract them into said casing uponV relative sliding` movement ogt'the casing sections in opposite directions respectively, and means for locking all said leadcarriers except the one to be projected against longitudinal movement.

2. A multi-lead :mechanical pencil comprising a casing including two relatively slidable and rotatable sections one having an opening at one y end, a plurality of leadcarriers mounted in said section of the casing to move one at a time through said opening, and means in the other'casing section to selectively engage said lead-carriers upon relative rotation of said casing sections and to project them outwardly through said opening and retract them into said casing upon relative sliding movement' of the casing sections in opposite directions respectively, and means actuated by the secondmentioned section as the last-mentioned .means connects `with -one of ysaid dead- Icarriers tor locking all l saidv lead-carriers except the oneto be projectedagainst longitudinal movement.

3. Amulti-lead mechanical pencil comprising a casingyincl-uzding ,tivo :relatively slidablerfand rotatable vsections 'one lhaving an openingrat one end, a; plurality-of leadcarriers, a;;guide for mounting each ylead- -carrier in saidcasing section torf individual sliding movement through said opening, means in the other casing .section to selectively connectavith said lead-carriers upon relative-rotation of sa-id casing-sections and to project said carriers voiit-Wardlythrough said openingand retract them into said casing` upon relative 'sliding movement: of said casing-sections opposite directions respectively, and means on yeach Aguide cooperating 'with the Ilast-mentioned means upon .relative rotation of said casingrv sec- `tions in V opposite directionslvvhen `a `leadcarrier is projected toflock-saidlead-carrier Iagainst lretraction into the casing-and release Jthe vlead-carrier respectively.

LA multi-'lead ymechanica-l ,i pencil com-l :p'rising a casing including'two relatively -slidablevand rotatable, sections. one `having a-n Vopening at one end, `afplurality` of leadcarriers,xa vvguide for vmounting each leadcarrier in said casingsection for'individual :slid-ing 1movement through said opening, eachi lead-carrier having aitransverse groove, andfallof saidgroovesbeing. in a common transverse iplaneiof. the casing when said lead-carriers :are krretracted from-v said .opening, and a pin on 'the other casingsection .to

sli-de through all; of said; grooves'when the lead-carriersare retracted: so ,asl to vselectively enter safidrooves of rsaid lead-carriers upon relative rotationl of saidA casing sections .and slide the lead-carrierfin opposite 4directions in said guideeutvvard throughsaid opening,and'inWardly into said casing respectively upon relative sliding ymovement ofi said casingV sections in opposite directions,

said pinbeing-slidable vin said guides to .Y

prevent-rotation. of said casing `sections While a lead-carrier'is-being actuated.

5. A multi-lead" "mechanical pencil comprising a casing including-,tivoy slidably telerality oilead-carriers `each having `leadholdingv means at one-end to project through scoping and relatively rotatable sections one. havingan opening at one endand Yflared .Walls inwardly from said opening, -a pluysaid. opening anda-iieXible rod at the other endhaving a guide-block securedthereto,

-a guide in said lcasing sectionslidab'ly` receiving Asa-idfblock Yof Seach lead-carrier, each block having-.atransverse groove yand all of saidgrooves being located in thesame trans- .verse plane off-saidca'sing When the leadcarriers *are retracted from said-Y opening, :and a pin onthe other` casing section toslide ENO through all of said grooves when said leadcarriers are retracted from said opening. so as'lto selectively/enter said grooves Vupon relative rotation of said casing sections'and actuate said lead-carriers in said :guides to project and'retract said lead-holding means throughsaid opening upon relative sliding movement of said Casing sections inV opposite directionsrespectively,said Vpin being slidable in said guide to hold-said casing sections against rotation While a lead-carrier is being actuated.

6. A multi-lead mechanical pencil comprising a casing including two fslidablytelescoping and relatively rotatable sections one having an openingat one end andared Walls inwardly froml said opening, a plurality kof lead-carriers each having leadholding means at one end to* project throughsaid vopening and a iiexib'le rod at the other end having a guide block secured thereto, a guide in said casing section slidably receiving said block of each'lead-car- Vrier, each block having a 4transverse groove and all of saidgroovesbeing locatedfin the same transverse plane of said casing Whenthe lead-carriers are retracted fromjsaid opening, and a pin'on the other casing section to selectively enter said grooves upon relative rotation ofsaid casing sections and actuate saidlead-carriers in said guides :to project and retract said lead-holding means through saidv opening upon. relative Asliding movement of said casingsections in opposite directions respectively, and-,means .actuated by said vpin upon rotation thereof for engaging the grooves ofall said blocks except the one occupied by said.v pin torlock all said lead-carriers except that engaged by-said pin against movement in said guides. Y

7. A multi-lead mechanical pencil comprising a casing including two slidably telescoping and relatively rotatable sections onehaving an opening at one end and flared Walls inwardly from said opening, a plural- Y ity of lead-carriers each havinglead-holding `means at onek end to project through said opening and aflexible rod at theother'end having a `guide block secured thereto, a guide in said casing section slidably receiving said block of, each lead-carrier, each block having a transverse groove and fall of said grooves being located in the same transverse planeet said casing when the lead- 'carriers are retracted vfrom saidl opening, and-ja pin on the other*casing` section j to selectively enter said groovesr upon relative rotation 'of said casing sections and actuate- .said Vlead-carriers in said guides tojproject and retract saidlead-holding meansfthrough said opening upon relative Y' sliding move- 'nient of saidcasing-sections in "opposite directions respectively, and a locking'ring having a transverse slot to'receive said pin and being rotatableby said pin to engage said ltransve'rsel grooves of al1 said blocks except theone occupied by said pin tolock'all said .lead-carriers except that engaged by said vpin against movement invsaid guides.

block of each lead-carrier, eachblock having a transverse groove and' all of said grooves being located in the same transverse plane ot said casing when the lead-carriers are retracted from saidopening, and a pin onthe .other casing section to selectively enter said grooves upon relative rotation of said cas- Y ing section and actuate'saidlead-carriers in said guides to vproj ect and retract said leadholding means through said opening upon relative sliding movement of said casing sections in opposite directions respectively, and means actuatedby said pin upon rotation vthereof for engaging'thegrooves'of all said blocks.v except the one occupied by said pin to lock all `said lead-carriers except that engaged by said pin against movement in said guides, and means for releasably holding said locking, means in such locking position during actuation of said lead-carrier by said pin.

9.`The pencil set forthin claim 4 with Vthe addition of a locking ring having a transverse slot to receive said pin and being rotatable by said pin toengage said transverse grooves of all said lead-carriers except the one occupied by said pin to lock all said lead-carriers except that engaged by said pin against movement in said guides.

10. Thepencil set forth in claim 4 with the addition of vmeans on each guide cooperating with said pin upon relative rotation of said casing sections in opposite directions when a lead-carrier is projected to lock said lead-carrier against retraction into'the casing and release the lead-carrier respectively. i

HALSEY MONROE LARTER. 

